River Road ISD just misses mandate

The River Road Independent School District board of trustees voted unanimously Monday to ask the state for maximum class-size waivers for four classes.

Three first-grade classes and one fourth-grade class at Rolling Hills Elementary School are one student above the state-mandated student-to-teacher ratio, Assistant Superintendent Gaye Lynn Dampf said.

Board President Stacey Johnson said the district applies for waivers when classes are slightly above the ratio because it is a more efficient option than hiring an additional teacher for just a few students.

“You couldn’t really hire another teacher for two or three students,” Johnson said. “The only way to even financially afford to do that is to apply for the waiver.”

However, school districts can submit requests for waivers that would exempt certain classes from the required ratio if compliance would cause an “undue hardship on the district,” according to the Texas Education Code.

Rolling Hills has 610 students enrolled, principal Richard Kelley said at Monday’s meeting.

The school also has received transfer requests from students who move out of the district but still want to attend the same school, Kelley said.

Dampf said all of the school’s other fourth-grade classes have 22 students, so the board would need to apply for more waivers if any of those classes gain another student.

In other business, the board unanimously approved the 2013-14 school calendar.

The first day of school will be Aug. 26, the final Monday of the month, and is consistent with when school started this year, according to district calendars.

Johnson said the district has faculty and staff vote on the calendar because it is an issue that directly affects them.

“For the most part, and all the years past, whatever they have decided on is what we go with because they are the ones that are affected by the calendar, not the board members,” Johnson said.